“Some heavy rain or showers at times too, especially across the north and west, with some spot flooding.

“Mild, top temperatures 13 to 15 C.

“Gales will abate somewhat, but further spells of heavy rain can be expected on Wednesday night - especially over eastern counties.”

Thursday, November 29

For Thursday, Met Eireann adds: “The weather will continue very changeable and inclement for the rest of the week.

“Thursday will be cool and blustery with a mix of bright spells and occasional showers.

“The showers will be heavy and frequent over western counties, with the chance of hail.

“Southwest winds will be strong with further gale gusts.”

Friday, November 30

Met Eireann says that Friday “will be a brighter and mainly dry day”.

It adds: “Some sunny spells, but still the chance of passing showers.

“Winds mainly fresh from the southwest.

“A cold day with slight frost after nightfall.”

Saturday, November 31

Met Eireann concludes “It’ll continue to be very changeable over the weekend.

“More rain on Friday night followed by a mainly dry Saturday.

“Yet more rain and strong winds expected next Saturday night and on Sunday.”

14:36KEY EVENT

Our round-up of the day so far

Here’s our round-up of events so far:

Bad weather brought chaos to our shores as it tore across the country today.

A Status Orange wind warning for Cork, Kerry and Waterford comes into effect from 6am tomorrow to midday, while a similar warning will be in place for Wexford, Galway and Clare from 9am until 3pm.

Looking ahead, the weather isn’t set to improve much over the rest of the week.

Met Eireann weather experts said: “Gales will abate somewhat, but further spells of heavy rain can be expected on Wednesday night - especially over eastern counties.

“Thursday will be cool and blustery with a mix of bright spells and occasional showers. The showers will be heavy and frequent over western counties, with the chance of hail. Southwest winds will be strong with further gale gusts.

“Friday will be a brighter and mainly dry day. Some sunny spells, but still the chance of passing showers. Winds mainly fresh from the southwest. A cold day with slight frost after nightfall.

And it was chaos on the roads today as major roads were hit with with high winds, also closing Dublin’s Port Tunnel and leading to heavy traffic on the M1.

All cargo terminals in the busy port were closed this morning, with spokesman for Dublin Port Charlie Murphy saying three terminals could not operate and ships could not load or unload. All cargo terminals reopened at around midday with some delays.

Mr Murphy told RTE: “This doesn’t happen very often and the decision was made in the interest of health and safety.”

Following the issuing of several Status Orange weather warnings by Met Eireann, AA Ireland is calling on motorists to slow down and exercise additional caution to help keep roads safe.

They said: “Homeowners in counties affected by the Orange Wind Warning are also being encourage to tidy up any loose items around their property which could be turned into wind-bourne debris.

“Motorists are being urged to take extra precautions when driving in the days ahead, as severe winds are expected as Storm Diana passes over Ireland.”

In Clare, a man was taken to hospital today with “head injuries” after a road traffic collision.

The man, aged in his late 60s or early 70s, was trapped in his car for a short period until emergency services arrived and cut him from the wreckage, sources said.

Firefighters from Limerick City and County Fire Service cut the roof off the man’s car to extract him from his vehicle.

The two-car collision occurred at Barry’s Cross, Ardnacrusha, Co Clare, located close to the Limerick border, around 7am this morning.

A number of flights in Dublin Airport were also delayed or cancelled today, with the high winds creating difficulty for planes.

Housing experts have warned homeowners to take steps to make sure their home is protected from the storm.

They advise people to ensure that their outside walls and windows are water resistant, use sandbags if necessary when there’s a risk of flooding and secure any items that could be blown around in the storm.

Knowing where your water, gas and electricity mains are is also vital - in case they need to be turned on or off at any stage.

Jonathan Hehir of Insure My House said : “The Irish are no strangers to bad weather – particularly in the last few years. But we have found that people forget the extreme weather cycles very quickly and that each year people fail to take the necessary precautions to protect their homes and their pockets from wet, windy and icy weather.”

Dublin Fire Brigade warned people to secure their outdoor furniture ahead of the gale force winds.

They said: “Please take the opportunity to tie or weigh down any outdoor furniture, trampolines etc. Secure your wheelie bins, they could blow out on to the road if tonight is your bin night.”

13:58

Traffic chaos due to poor weather

All cargo terminals were closed after yellow weather warnings were issued across 20 counties in Ireland.Wind speeds of more than 110kph were expected to hit parts of the country while flood warnings have been put in place across a number of counties.

Restrictions were also in place at the Port Tunnel which led to a severe backlog of traffic and hundreds of lorries waiting to enter the port.Passenger ferries operated as normal.

Wind hitting the coast and an Irish Rail service (stock images)

A spokesman for Dublin Port said three terminals could not operate and ships could not load or unload. All cargo terminals reopened at around midday with some delays.

Charlie Murphy told RTE: “This doesn’t happen very often and the decision was made in the interest of health and safety.”Storm Diana is expected to continue throughout Tuesday afternoon with forecasters saying it will move on to Northern Ireland by Wednesday.

The Road Safety Authority (RSA) appealed to road users to exercise caution when driving on Wednesday after Met Eireann issue orange weather warnings across southern counties including Cork, Kerry and Waterford.A spokesman said: “The RSA is asking road users to check local weather and traffic conditions and be aware of the conditions before setting out on a trip.

”The RSA has the following advice for road users - beware of objects being blown out on to the road, watch out for falling/fallen debris on the road and vehicles veering across the road, allow extra space between you and vulnerable road users such as cyclists and motorcyclists, and drive with dipped headlights at all times.”

13:46

Windy conditions force plane to abort landing at Irish airport

A WOW Air flight was forced to abort landing at Dublin Airport because of powerful gusts.

Flight WW-6, from Reykjavik in Iceland to Dublin had to perform a go-around Tuesday morning due to veering winds.

Met Eireann has issued Status Yellow and Orange wind warnings as the country braces for powerful winds of up to 130 km/h.